Post-game interviews

NBC cut away — of course, Tiger was making a move … a golf move — so you probably didn’t see that after Milan Lucic jumped Ryan McDonagh behind the net after the buzzer, the two teams nearly got together at center ice. John Scott was jawing at Zdeno Chara and they really came close to getting at one another. The officials separated everybody, but it was close to being nasty.

Of course, Lucic will escape punishment because everybody does. McDonagh had a nice bloody welt on his face, but didn’t want to discuss it.

Some interesting interviews. Listen to Dan Girardi’s take on the game. He makes a lot of sense, that, yeah. it sure wasn’t close to perfect, but maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked at times. And the coach had some cool things to say about Marian Gaborik.

Interesting how Torts is praising Gaborik for scoring dirty goals. It’s true, even the last couple of games you could see goals from AA with the shot in upper corner (twice). Another one, very similar From Stepan today. Gaborik- from around the net. He also won a couple of defensive battles at far board today, one against Chara.

Those Sweaters are as bad as the black Knicks Jerseys, the Knicks Christmas Jerseys and the Mets black Jerseys. When are people going to understand that minimalism is much easier on the eyes. This isn’t paintball!

Thanks for the coverage carp. The beat is barren today otherwise. I was looking forward reading/hearing some postgame coverage and you brought it. Thanks for the postgame and practice coverage you provide all year, and I really enjoy reading your PostGame Top 10 list. You were dead on about artie’s wrister and him needing to believe in it and use it more often this morning. And you’ve been dead on over the season in your assessment of Dubisnky’s season and how much the Rangers are actually counting on him if they hope for ultimate post-season success.

I went to my first game of 2012 against the devils on Monday. I had had an ACL reconstruction and meniscus repairs after the holidays and was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks.

Aside from the help of family/friends, I say the Rangers and Giants were the best thing I had going for a few weeks.

What a season so for huh? All that panic in late october, all the panic that comes with every sub.500 week. But the boys are alright. They prepare the right way, they play the right way, they know what it takes to play the way they need to get where they want to go, they never quit, they never panic, they’re geuinely passionate about being a new york ranger, and they’re driven win every game they play. It is like a band of brothers.

Developmentally you say they’re a year ahead of schedule. So it’s all gravy. But these guys are gonna have to be either beaten down out of the playoffs, or smoked by a set of a superstars to be ousted in a best of 7 this year.

Some say they may be hitting a wall, I say it’s tough part of the grind of the season, especially when your in the position they are in. But I saw it against the devils, they will be ready to meet any challenge.

Their goal is to A) maintain status quo, and that’s the way they go about their business, prep, practice and game time, and that doesn’t mean go through the motions, it means approach it with the same intensity as they did in november. B) To shore up weaknesses. and to C) build up their play to the perfect game, the game where everything is clicking on all cyclinders. And then to bottle that rythym and mindset and swag and carry it for as many consecutive games as possible. So that when the team’s play does slip or begin to change, the coaches call immediate attention to it, and the players are that much more equipped to learn how to turn it on when they need to.

You want to be playing your best heading into elimination games. Or you want to be best prepared to play your best when you need to.

I think for the remainder of the reg. season, fans are safe to do this, watch the situations when the rangers are down as challenges and good examples of different game situations they may end up facing in a playoff game when they need to comeback in games.

Also, I just wanted to go into my thoughts on Dubi alittle further. Carp, I’d really like to hear your take on it. But understand if due to work reasons, you cant. Either way like always, thanks for your work and feel free to let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to do for the blog.

The rangers need him to be the player he was in the 3rd period in TB. Because that’s the player the rangers valued at 4million. Due to the teams’s success, it hasnt cost the rangers and they’ve been able to be cover up for it, but Dubinsky is one of the top 5 most important players for the Rangers. I’ve seen it from him, but to be honest, I don’t see it often enough. Of all the rangers, he has the hardest time finding his groove and maintaining that style of play and focus. Earlier in his career, I thought he was trying to be things he wasn’t: either play like a sniper, or play like a superstar going 1 vs 3. Now what I see is someone who’s thinking too much, someone who dearly wants to succeed, but doesnt know how to translate that desire into the proper mindset and compete level. It’s like when he’s thinking and trying, he’s body isnt really competing, his head’s overthinking and his body is just skating, and he’s letting his mind do the gear grinding. When Dubi’s struggling, you always see him skating, up and down the ice. He wants to be where he’s supposed to be, but he’s not engaged and not in the middle of things. And then there are times like the 3rd period in TB, where all of a sudden you saw Dubinsky the bull. And you can legitimately see on his face he’s locked in. Only thinking is, I’m gonna be in the middle of this, I’m gonna be on the puck. Like he’s possessed. But he has a hard time staying locked in to that bull or beast mode. Like today I thought he lost it after the ranger’s second goal, where it was unsure whether it was dubi’s/hagelin’s. Something so simple as some success and maybe an exhale, and then some debate on the bench between the two. And that’s it. That was the last end of Beast Mode dubi I saw today. The Rangers need him to be that player more often then not in the playoffs if they want a shot at winning it all